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January is full of resolutions, which often fail because there were either too many resolutions or there wasn’t enough focus on the ability to maintain or sustain the resolution.

Every dealer should have resolutions - understanding, however, that the mentality in the industry is often a tunneled month-to-month perspective. A perspective that is often short lived as the bigger picture is often forgotten.

It is not too late, though!

One resolution that can make a big difference is a dealer managing/organizing their vendors - reviewing the year-end reports cross-checking the vendor's current role in your overall strategy. Asking yourself if the vendor is currently living up to their standards - all too often, dealers forget just how many vendors they work with!

When is the last time you logged into to your vendors portal to check reports or ask a question to improve performance?

Keep in mind, when reviewing vendors it is important to review the marketing schedule (namely, when your marketing was sent out). Looking for trends in the open rates, conversion rate, click rate, and how many appointments were scheduled. Asking yourself if the current strategy is working? Are your dealers marketing efforts overlapping?

Something as simple as switching the marketing schedule (making sure it is in alignment with the OEM) can impact the conversion rate leading to more appointments. More appointments result in more RO’s!

Beyond switching/reviewing your marketing schedule it is also a good time to review the website. Asking yourself if the website offers the service customer a good experience? When reviewing the site look for the overall ease of use - i.e. how long did it take you to book an appointment? Are there too many pop-ups?

If you have a chat service - CHAT! - have a conversation with the agent to see how they perform when asking to book a service appointment. Does the agent take too long to assist the customer? Did the customer get an appointment?
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This all sounds simple, but the fact of the matter is managing and strategizing with your vendor what you expect for them (starting in January) is far more effective than trying to work out a new plan in the middle of February! If you set the expectations now, your dealer is already ahead allowing you to fine tune your strategy as the year progresses.

How many of you already have met with your vendors? Have you gotten rid of vendors? Or is the month to month mentality best?